Daily Undulating Periodization Results

Daily Undulating Periodization Results

Introduction

For those who don’t follow me on YouTube(it’s understandable, I don’t post enough videos), you missed out on me testing my beltless squat and deadlift maxes after following the program I wrote about in this article: Daily Undulating Periodization for Powerlifting. I am more than happy to say that the DUP program was a resounding success. Despite cutting twenty pounds during the ten week DUP protocol, I managed to hit some numbers that I am extremely satisfied with.

Daily Undulating Periodization Results

I managed to squat 465 beltless at 200 pounds, even with a hip flexor strain that undoubtedly held me back from more. This was a twenty pound PR at this body-weight and only twenty pounds off my all-time best of 485, which was done under much less fatigue and at forty pounds heavier. Earlier in the program, I beltless squatted a fairly easy 350×12 and a slightly more difficult 385×8. I based my working weight percentages off of a very conservative estimated beltless squat max for the duration of the program. For the volume block, the max was set to 400 and I bumped it up to 415 for the intensity block. If you set your working maxes too high, you will under-recover, burn out and begin to miss reps. You don’t want that. I recommend setting your working max to 90% of what you know you are capable of on any given day.

Coming into the DUP program, I was a little unsure as to how my deadlifts would go with singles only training (once I got to my working sets). I worried that it would be too time consuming to generate the volume required for adaptations or that I would be woefully unprepared for grinding out a heavy max when a vast majority of my time was spent lifting easy singles at 75-85% of my 1RM. Luckily, I had nothing to worry about. Not only did I show that I was ready to handle heavy loads by pulling an all-time beltless deadlift PR of 565, but my deadlift training was surprisingly easy and time efficient. Because the singles were never difficult, I didn’t need to rest nearly as long between my lifts as programs that call for a higher RPE on the Borg Scale. As a matter of fact, I spent more time setting up for each of my deadlifts than I did resting between sets! I also found that all of these extra set-ups I was doing paid huge dividends to my form. My form felt crisp and my pulls were faster than ever before. Admittedly, this didn’t carry over to my max attempt at 565, but an extra week or two of deadlift training at higher intensities likely would have cured this issue. Just like my squats, I based my working max off a conservative number (510).

If you are wondering why I didn’t test my bench press, it’s because I have been suffering from a torn pec that just won’t go away. I have scheduled an appointment with a surgeon next week to talk about my options as I have been dealing with this for far too long. If given the opportunity, I am sure my bench would respond very well to this kind of training, as the volume and frequency aren’t all that different from the Sheiko blocks that I’ve enjoyed in the past.

Conclusion

Based off my results and that of popular powerlifters like Layne Norton, Garrett Blevinsand Bryce Lewis, programs based around Daily Undulating Periodization are a viable way to train for powerlifting. Personally, I find it suits my needs much more than other well-known methods floating around right now. Furthermore, all of this volume is a great way to put on quality muscle if you are looking to go up a weight class or need to fill out the weight class that you currently find yourself in.

Thank You

I hope you enjoyed reading “First Powerlifting Meet Checklist and Tips”! If you did, please share it and be sure follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Tumblr and Pinterest. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to comment below or Contact Me. Last, but most certainly not least, thank you for your time and feedback!

Hans Hinnershitz

I am a 23 year old Powerlifter and Strength and Conditioning Assistant at the renowned Orlando Barbell gym. My best raw totals to date are 1576@220 and 1555@198. I am in the process of cutting to the 181’s where I believe I stand my best chance competitively. I will graduate in Spring of 2016 from UCF with a B.S in Exercise Science and minors in Biology and Personal Training.